I know that we have a thread already showing the Q&A and many of us were talking throughout the whole thing, but I wanted to make a thread that compiled all the questions he answered in one place so that anyone who doesn't want to look through that thread can just read it here.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to come here and answer questions.

There seems to have been a lot of talk lately about whether ESO is a real MMO prompted by some statements you guys made last month about it being playable as a single player experience. I've been following the development of the game closely for several months and I don't see any changes in the design of the game.

Can you explain why the shift in emphasis on how you describe the game?

I think this has to do with how we approach development. We were worried that the term MMO had become synonymous with a certain type of game with an almost exact set of rules. That was definitely a perception we felt, even internally. But we really wanted to be true to our IP first, and still have this amazing social game with thousands of players online. When I started on UO, MMO was a new term and there weren't limits on it. We don't dislike the term or the association, we love it. We just want to make sure people aren't expecting it to be a clone of certain games.

How does the mega server actually work as far as intelligently assigning channels? Do we fill out a preference form, or link our facebook account?

Tell us more about the end game, cyrodil, and instanced public dungeons. I just wanted to know what's in store.

Right now, it uses data we already know about you. Your in-game friends, your guild associations, etc. We take that and try to put you in a channel of people you most likely want to be with. We talked about doing a form at one time, and we still might, but that isn't in right now.

That's a load of questions. Let's take end-game:

PVE

Solo end-game = what we have internally been calling 50+. Imagine you can go into any alliance after you complete the zones in your original alliance, but there are no longer levels. Now you can go anywhere you want in that alliance. If you finish that, you go onto the third alliance.

Small group end-game: Master dungeons. You'll go through dungeons which are more difficult to do progressively. Also we have Adventure Zones where there are large swaths of area just for the smaller group. (4 player)

Large group: Adventure Zone instances. While we aren't calling them "raids" internally, that's what you might be safest in imagining.

PVP:

Caters to groups of all sizes. But this is Cyrodiil, a huge land mass where you can just adventure solo doing quests, or looking for resources. Maybe you want a strike group to take out farms or mines. Also you have large objectives like keep sieges. The beauty of Cyrodiil is the size allows for lots of different sizes of group activity down to solo. However, we do pinpoint the hotspot on your map for you, which means if a sizeable fight is going on, you will see it dynamically appear on your map.

Question: Can PLAYER created guilds have members from all alliances in it?

Thank You,
Defatank
Great Architect Admin

Yes.

Do you have a System ingame that will allow me to play with friends/guild mates even if there lvl is below mine ( I mean in PvE ). For Example like the Mentoring System in Rift where you can adjust your own lvl to play low lvl dungeons/quests with your friend without becoming to powerfull for that content or does the area where your in auto-adjust your lvl like in gw2? Sorry for any spelling mistake. Greetz from Germany

We do not have anything like that currently in game. We've looked into this, and we have some ideas, but I don't believe it will be in for ship.

Thank you very much for being here. I am dying to know more about how player to player trading works in ESO? How will I buy, sell, or trade with other players?

Currently you are able to trade in two very important ways:

1. Meeting someone and doing the normal, "Hey, let's swap items."
2. You will be able to trade in your Guild Store. This is a really big thing for us, and part of the reason we allow people to join multiple guilds. We think this is pretty exciting and we'll have more details on the full system later.

QUESTION:
Will there be some kind of arena (like that in Oblivion) where I can challenge other players or at least NPCs to a duel, with perhaps the option of staking?

Thanks for doing this Paul! And nice name by the way (it's mine too)

All dueling an PvP activity currently takes place in Cyrodiil. We don't have an arena for it in the PvE areas.

Will I be able to leave the starter zone immediately upon starting a new game, or must I complete certain quests before I will be allowed to leave?

We try to make sure you can leave pretty quickly if you would like, but you will likely have to do some things to get out of starter areas.

can we rejoin an allaince we alrdy beat (if i start in ebon heart then join the queen can i rejion ebon heart for a more difficult play through.

Right now, you cannot.

- Colothing/Appearance -

1.Will our equipt gear forced to be our clothing or will we be able to wear anything we want and have the gears only represent stats.

I dont want to be forced to wear pieces of clothing I dont want, I want to wear custom outiks of my choosing.

2.Will clothing be like skyrim where an armor set is created for your whole body or will the clothing be seperate for each body part.

The former is too restricting and hinders character customization immensely

Thank you

Right now, we do have costumes in the game and disguises which can be worn over your gear to give you a different look. We also have options for you to take gear you like (stats) and make it look different.

Hi Paul, big fan!

My question is..

Is healing in TESO limited to two paths?

You have stated that the 4 classes are just templates and starting point as there are loads of skill trees to follow and shape a character to fit our playing styles. However as a healer, as far as the information has been released, are there only 2 Healing skill paths at launch, The Templars healing path, and the Restoration Staff path. Is this not a very limited choice for healers? Either being forced to pick a Templar, or only having the option of one weapon, the Restoration Staff.

Will there be any other healing paths that have not been unannonced?

Will the Restoration Staff have different attunments, like the Destruction Staff having Fire, Lightning and Frost?

As it currently stands, if I was to play either a Sorcerer, Nightblade or Dragon Knight, is the only option I have to be a viable group healer, the Restoration Staff path?

Thanks

Well, there are two full 'healing' paths, that aren't just healing, but that is their focus. Also, most "healing" classes usually have other skills or abilities. For us, you can determine what those are. I think the openness of the skill system really will allow you to play a very versatile healer.

Hiya Paul,

1) I for one do not use anything that even resembles Facebook or Twitter. Any chance you could do some contests in normal forums?

2) Any chance to purchase a litho of the Frey that is signed by all the developers?

3) Can I have a Beta invite?

Thanks.

Ratero.

1) I am sure we'll spread out our contests. I think those are just sites where we announce them. here. And also, you should meet our community team, they are awesome.

2) I wouldn't even begin to know how to put a price on that. But maybe there will be a contest...

3) If I had a dollar...

Question :

You mentionned in a german interview that you could choose 5 guilds per player acount, but you did not say how many characters we could create for a single acount . Could you please tell us the max limit of characters we can create?

Thanks in advance

Llogwey, a french fan

You know, we're actually still debating on the final number. So no, I don't really know.

Hey, Paul

Can you tell us an example of a feedback received during beta-testing? What people liked and what is their standing to the game?

-Quint

Beta feedback is amazing so far in both ways. The testers have done a very good job of being constructive if they wish something were different. This is huge for us. However, and this will sound self-congratulating, so I apologize, but our feedback through forums and surveys has been very positive and very encouraging.

what kind of collision system will be in the game? do I move through my friends while playing, can they push me, or can members of my faction block my way?

There is no collision with other players. I know why people want there to be, I really do, but it also leads to opportunities for griefing. While I understand you can work around all of those I think this anecdote is important, "we can do anything, but we can't do everything." Having played our PvP, I think people will agree with this decision.

How does respawn time of resources, locked chest and mobs work in public dungeons? Is it possible to camp bosses (if there are any)?

You'd probably do yourself a bigger favor if you didn't camp it. It isn't worth camping. You'll have plenty of opportunities for great loot all over the place.

ESO appears to have "traditional MMO" leveling so how will exploration work out? In Skyrim I can pretty much wander everywhere and find relevant "content" to do. In ESO are we limited to level-bracketed zones where once we out-level an area it becomes irrelevant in terms of both exploration (and/or "immersion") and character advancement?

Also in PvE can we freely help other players cooperatively or if they had already tagged a mob will they take an XP penalty because someone else helped them?

Yep. There are levels. I've worked on an MMO where there weren't levels and that certainly has merits. However, leveling also has merits in being able to really feel progression, in more stumble-upon stranger encounters, and lots more that it would take almost all night to cover. I think what we've created gives you a lot of freedom to explore because these aren't small areas. That said, once you reach the end of your alliance and go into another alliance... you're top level. (or should be) Go nuts!

Hello Mr Sage,

Thanks for taking your time here.

Heres my question.

In other MMOs we were allowed to duel with our own faction members to practice. Will we be able to duel in the pve and pvp zones?

Thank you.

We don't have a dueling system in of that type currently.

Hey Paul,

The game looks great! Im excited to delve into the world and see what is in store for me and my friends.

My concern/question is this:

In every MMORPG and even in Skyrim mages seem to eventually take a backseat to more damage dealing classes. With the exception of AoE attacks mages never seem to get their opportunity to shine, especially in 1v1 combat scenarios. What mechanics do you have in place to ensure classes stay balanced through the entire leveling process and in PvP. Are there ways that mages can specialize in 1v1 combat scenarios?

Thanks Paul

- Zach, AkA MJ Brutus

Remember, you'll have access to many of the same abilities and skills as everyone else. How you slot them in your shortcut bar will make the difference, as will your skill, gear, etc. You'll just have to find what works for you in PvP, but no class should be better than another in PvP.

Will it be a model where a class can change spec "on the fly" during an instance or a raid, to fit various roles?

Not sure if I understand, but you will have skills and abilities you acquire in the game. More than you can use at any one time. You can select skills that make up a role, and you can definitely switch your abilities out when not in combat. In combat you have two shortcut bars once you get past level 15. (Add a weapon swap.) By switching weapons, you have a completely new shortcut bar you can fill with whatever abilities you like. You can do this in combat.

Hell Paul, thank you for being here for the fans!

My Question is: Are healing AOE’s and Cones the only healing abilities in the game?

No. There are others. We have what we call smart heals, and we have some other types of healing.

Hey there!

I know that there will be open dungeons, world boss and explorer adventures (that we don't know exactly how they will work) as raid contents, but these contents are OPEN (btw I don't know if explorer adventures will be open too) so anyone can join them. With that being said, I'd like to know if there will be some instanced raid (10+ players) to do, for exemple, only with guild mates.

Thank you.

I think the best answer is essentially, "yes." While we don't call them 'raids' it's a safe-enough correlation.

Question. What level of customization will be allowed with crafting beyond additives. Will there be naming, Crafters mark or colourization

Yes naming, and we are discussing other means of customization for crafters internally. We'll post more as we actually see it in-game.

Thank you so much for doing a Q&A.

More to the point, I was looking up the combat system (looking for how Stamina will effect that etc.) and I saw something about a "soft lock", could you clarify just what that means?

Thanks.

~ClenchMasterFlex

Heh. I'll try. The most important thing to remember about our combat is you must be facing your target to hit it. Your reticle must almost be on your target... there is some forgiveness. However, we did notice situations where you want to stay on a target and it goes behind another valid target. So we implemented a feature where you could essentially say, there are roughly two things I am aiming at, but I mean to hit *that one*.

QUESTION:

Crafting in other ES games have been a sort of grind, gathering enormous amounts of materials of sitting in said crafting spot grinding out the daggers, potions, or gloves to quickly speed things along due to crafting max level gear is a huge advantage in the single player games. I know you say items will be equal when it comes to effectiveness if the item was looted from a dungeon or crafted by a player of equal level from the dungeon. Will the grind be as taxing to become an effective crafter?

War of http://www.acolytesgaming.com/

I don't know that i agree with your assessment about it being a grind, because I enjoyed the hell out of Skyrim crafting. That said, we are doing things to not make it a grind, by which I mean not repetitive activity with little degrees of success, but understand some people define "grind" very differently. A lot of people like low-key activities they can do while they socialize in the game. We want to make sure to have those in the game as well.

Hello, Mr. Sage, and thanks for coming 'round to take our questions. [mod edit]

Now - to my "issue". I've seen a lot of people say that they want a game that plays like the single player Elder Scrolls games, with a lot of solo content. I've seen just as many people say the opposite - that they want a more group-oriented type of game. I'm happy with both, but I do tend to run solo, and I don't raid (Daddy responsibilities and all). So - is there a happy medium between the two schools of thought? Am I going to have to raid once I hit max level to really get the most out of the game? Or is PvP (of which I'm a big fan) a major part of the end-game (I hate that term)?

Thanks again.

I really think there is a happy medium. See my answer for veteran content as an example. (Also, make sure your Daddy responsibilities include ESO together with the family.)

Hi Paul.

Once I only want to say that you're doing a very good job.

My question is... "what is the best class for a tank?"

Thank you!

Thanks. Best class for a tank... I don't know. Right now, Dragonknight. That's going to change with some tweaks. But remember, Heavy Armor and other skill lines like Sword and Shield will help you be a VERY effective tank. Also, how you spend your stat points. So, I don't think that class is going to be the deciding factor on the best tank.

HI Paul ty for your time.

Seen so many interviews but still not clear ,how long /how many people are yor biggest raids

Regards M

The reason why is we are still testing for the best numbers. When we believe we have it set it stone, we'll let you know.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for take the time to do this.

My question is: Is there a prison/bounty system in ESO, and how will it work?

Right now, there is not.

- Archery -

Are you doing anything new to Archery in terms of abilities/attacks to improve archery from past TES games primarily Skyrim.

I just finally wanna get the ability to fire multipe arrows(Ala Legolas from LOTR) and element echanted arrows(Fire,Ice,Lightning).

Thank you

We'll have lots of different archery abilities to go with our bow skill line. Some are different from previous TES games.

Wow! a lot of unanswered questions already.

A simple one. There are two equipment slots. Is it possible to have the same weapon type in each? Two destruction staffs, for example? Or, even better, can you just use the same exact weapon for both loadouts?

Limiting, perhaps, but 12 skills would make you one awesome DPSer...

You can put whatever type of weapon you like in the second slot. So yes, if you carry around two destruction staves, knock yourself out.

Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to come here.

Here's my question/topic I'd like you to address, if possible.

To put it plainly, I'm extremely turned off by the faction lock and the lack of immersion that comes from the phasing being applied. As a long time Elder Scrolls fan, there is a great joy in experiencing open borders. As the game is designed, that's not the case. Furthermore, the fact that I must complete the preceding faction's zone before heading on also limits immersion. Forming guilds and groups becomes infinitely more difficult, especially for roleplayers like myself who typically one race or another.

Please justify this.

Taking yours so people don't think I am fielding all of the easy ones. First, this isn't going to be an exact copy of other Elder Scrolls titles. Each Elder Scrolls game has been and will be unique. I can understand your concern. However, when we decided to put in a heavy PvP system where there would be a faction war, we wanted those factions to mean something. This is also the first Elder Scrolls game where you will be able to adventure with other people and fight other people. I don't think we need to justify it, I just think we need to be up front and honest about it. I hope you join us as an Elder Scrolls fan. I think you'll appreciate the differences as well as the similarities. But thanks for taking the time to ask.

Hi Paul,

One of the things that make MMOs great (to me) is being able to find an epic piece gear, or a new rare mount, and brag about it to your friends.

Is ESO going to have some awesome, hard to acquire items that will give the player that great sense of achievement?

Yes. Yes we will.

So, if I one day feel bored and get the crazy idea to run from coast to coast (yea, Forrest Gump) in Tamriel, example from Winterhold (Skyrim) to Southpoint (Valenwood). How many hours will that take?

I honestly have no idea. But I'd recommend getting a mount.

In regards to the character creation system I am exceptionally eager to learn whether the various elven races are going to be designed in a way which makes them a little more distinct than simply coming across as looking like humans with long ears; thus I'm curious as to whether they'll have a distinct look along a similar look to how they've been presented in previous TES games whilst also being reasonably attractive and appealing?

I am really pleased to report that the various Mer do indeed look very different and I think you can make them look both attractive and unattractive as you desire.

Here is the link to the website if you want to read the Q&A for yourself: http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/390321/page/1

Yeah. He doesnt want to see that guy asked about dragons

Big Take Aways For Me:

--No Dueling. Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!?!?????!?!??

--Raiders can rest easy. Paul Sage saves the day with straight talk. Adventure Zones are equivalent to raids.

--No collision detection. Yes they've thought about it. They can't do everything and the PvP is great without it.

--No questionnaire for the megaserver right now. Maybe later.

--Dragonknight is probably the best Tank class (duh) but you will be able to tank with any class.

Unfortunately none of my questions got answered. Still some nice info though. I really hope dueling makes it into the game some time down the road.

The biggest question remaining on everyone's mind though is: Will there be dragons? Perhaps we will never know.

This one puzzles and potentially interests me.

It almost sounds like the questioner is talking about changing alliances. But it's ambiguous enough that it could mean they're talking about rolling alts.

Either way interesting that the developer bothers to qualify with "right now" rather than just a straight up "no".

I think what he meant was that, if you roll a Dunmer you can do all the EP quests, but can you go back and play the EP quests at a 50+(++) level. That's what I think he was trying to ask, but obviously it seems that English is not his first language. So Paul is saying you can't right now, but maybe sometime in the future we could replay our own factions quests but at a higher difficulty.

I think you've got the right of it here.

50+ and 50++ are currently only for the other factions (which makes total sense to me.)

Cannot belive that he missed my question so lame

It is a lore breaker in my book about how in Valenwood the migratory tree Falinesti just stopped for unknow reasons. If this becomes a raid/ adventure zone or some stupied quest where a some necromancer some how made it stop i would delete my char and join some other faction

Yeah, I'm surprised that they aren't having dueling in the game at this point in time. I really hope they reconsider and will add it later.

And I loved the answer he gave for collision detection. They obviously tried and they know people wanted it, but it just didn't work for their game.

Maybe they're opting for something a bit more thematically appropriate for same-faction PvP, eg. Arenas.

I know it's a common mechanic for MMOs but I don't think it's realistic for people to just start bashing and casting away at each other wherever they please. And I for one would be happy if I was never the subject of another random duel invite. Especially when the [censored] repeatedly invite after I've declined.

What no Dueling dam thats a shame but one thing i do like is that we can name our crafted items ill make a 2hander sword called The Big Schlong just for giggles

Most MMOs allow you to auto-decline duels and you will never see them.

And people like doing duels because they use them as a way to practice their PvP. They want to try and test out their new builds on people before the take them out into battle.

Of course, even with auto-decline, you get idiots who won't take the hint and start following you around trying to get you to duel them.

True, you will find those people. Had those type of people who would whisper me and complain that I wouldn't duel them. I just don't pay any attention to them and if they got too aggressive I would just put them on my ignore list and they never bothered me again.

I'm not really annoyed at the lack of a duel system. I'm so fed up with starting new characters and going through low level zones, getting duels. I mean, seriously. Is a level 15+ so pathetic that they need to duel a level 3-5 character just to beat them and get an ego boost? Wow. You beat someone a mere fraction of your level. How awesome. /endrant

Conversely, when a higher level visits a lower level area, why do lower levels feel the need to repeatedly challenge the higher level knowing that they don't stand a chance if the higher level puts forth even a minimal effort?

I've never cared for duels myself, so no dueling doesn't bother me. Small-scale in faction for PvP for kicks/bragging rights can come later--I'd rather they focused on the big picture of Cyrodiil (so PvP can actually be balanced around the PvP endgame), and add more personally scaled fights later.

In 8 years, I've never had this issue. The most someone 'spam' dueled me, was perhaps 4 times; it's only annoying when they are a much higher level than you.

edit: in my opinion.

I think what he was asking is, can he redo his own alliance only in the more difficult mode like it would be if he went to another alliance, that's what I got from the question.

Personally I would like to see dueling so that guilds can hold tournaments to decide their guild champion(s), and without dueling the only way to decide the guild champion is how they are doing in the ladder progression in the war in Cyrodiil and some players in your guild may never want to take part in the war and might like to take part in a guild championship tournament.

So by leaving dueling out they are really putting a damper on guild activities and that's a real shame indeed.

I really hope they decide to put it in the game and just make it so the loosing player eventually gets knocked unconscious and looses no exp, does not have to repair their armor and weapons, and its just a friendly fight to see who is the best, and also have auto declines that actually tell the player constantly asking you to duel.... "this player has the option set to auto decline" , so they know right off the bat that they won't get a duel from them period.

You were lucky then--In WoW I had someone follow me from Orgrimmar, on the zep to the Undercity, and halfway across the Plaguelands (this was in the vanilla days) before they finally got the hint that I really wasn't interested in dueling them. Of course, that was on a warlock that I didn't use to PvP (first PvP kill on that character was during Wrath, some dwarf hunter that wouldn't leave me alone when I was killing elementals in Winterspring between PvP battles) when everyone talked about how OP warlocks were for PvP.

Yeah, I think that's how most of us read it.

He specifically mentioned arenas as well and denied that they are in the game.

Its not just about practicing for PvP (though that's part of it.) Its also great for RP, both in a guild and with strangers. I love beating someone (who is my same level) and then responding how my character would respond.

I have two characters in SWTOR. One of them bows to every opponents after a duel. The other one spits on them, kicks them, or laughs at them. That there is great RP.

Also, like Rahl said, it allows you to have champions/tournaments and such in your guild.

Also, thanks for compiling it all, Lep.

Well, people did follow me from time to time, but I simply logged out for 10 seconds, came back, and they were gone.

And in the end I knew the same amount of information as 5 minutes ago, only worded differently

Well, he did state in the beginning that he wouldn't release any information about the payment model, so really there wasn't going to be anything huge he was going to tell us.

And if you read most of the peoples questions it's all regurgitated stuff that we have heard like a million times. So if people aren't willing to ask specific questions to specific things that we haven't heard of yet, or to clarify more, we weren't seriously going to hear anything good from this.

The pointed questions would have been ignored anyways..regardless of whether or not they were asked..he went in there already knowing what he was going to answer.